Benicia Film fest includes Oscar-nominated 'Invisible War'

Yet, the Benicia Film Festival has indeed arrived, running the gamut of subjects from delightful monks in the Sacramento Valley to online dating to sexual assaults in the military to children uniting cultures through music.

It hasn’t been easy, but Matt O’Reilly believes it’s all worth it when all is said and done with the April 4-6 screenings at the Veterans Building and Benicia Public Library.

“Our responsibilities have been immense,” said O’Reilly, art instructor at Benicia High School and one of three committee members.

O’Reilly figured some 25 to 30 films were screened during the last two years, narrowing the field to the chosen few.

“There were a lot of great films to choose from,” O’Reilly said. “We have a very diverse group of films. There will be many genres represented.”

The event begins April 5 at the Vets Building with a 7 p.m. screening of “The Invisible War,” a documentary about sexual assaults in the U.S. military and winner of the Audience Award at Sundance and nominated for an Oscar.

Saturday’s day-long events include “My Town,” “VOENA,” “The Heron and the Geisha: A Life of Dance,” in the first segment. “The Mermaid Complex,” “Just Because I Am,” and high school student shorts round out the second segment. The third segment includes Lunafest films, with a portion donated to breast cancer research and building a safehouse in Benicia. Saturday’s final segment includes “From Disgrace to Grace,” “On the Rise,” and “Supercuts.”

Sunday’s films switch the library, with Benicia filmmaker John Beck’s “Harvest,” playing at 1 p.m. and “The Monks of Vina” at 3:30 p.m.

“I’m really looking forward to having my films shown in front of a hometown audience,” said Beck. “These scrappy, low-budget documentaries have played all over the Bay Area, in festivals around the country, and as far away as France. But I’ve never actually shown one of my films in the town where I live, so this will be cool.”

“The Monks of Vina” screened at last year’s prestigious Napa Valley Film Festival and that “was awesome,” Beck said. “You could tell people were truly curious about the film and the monks and we had great Q&A’s. The only thing missing was the monks. They don’t get out much.”

Beck did screen the movie at the monastery in Vina and the film ran two weeks at the Pageant Theater in Chico. Plus, more than 500 attended a screening at the State Theater in Red Bluff.

Carolyn Plath, another committee member, said she and her colleagues “looked at a variety of elements” in selecting the films: Story and character, technical quality, use of light, sound, pacing; and range of subject matter.

“My experience is as a long-time film lover,” she said. “I guess I’m a ‘buff’ moving toward ‘aficionado.’”

“My Town,” a tribute to Benicia, “is important for our local identity,” Plath said, while “Voena” is “beautiful, uplifting, speaks to the power of song and the power of children to ouch us and bridge cultural chasms.”

“The Heron and the Geisha,” said Plath, “is inspiring, the ancient thread reaching across time and culture.”

Plath called the Benicia High School student shorts “funny, touching and encouraging,”

O’Reilly is thrilled that BHS students are involved in the debut festival.

“I am excited for the community to see how many creative film students we have,” he said.

The film festival is a worthy addition to the city, Plath said.

“Benicia is building its identity as an arts community and a destination for cultural events,” she said.